Former top Dutch banker found dead at home with wife and child

AMSTERDAM A Dutch former top banker who came under fire for taking a large pay-off after the nationalization of his troubled bank was found dead along with his wife and daughter on Saturday in what police called a family tragedy.

Jan Peter Schmittmann, 57, ran the domestic operations of Dutch bank ABN Amro between 2003 and 2007 and was widely criticized for landing an 8 million euro ($10.95 million) pay-off after the bank's collapse and subsequent nationalization.

Police said they visited his house in the wealthy commuter town of Laren early on Saturday after being alerted by a family friend. There they found his body along with those of his 57-year-old wife and 22-year-old younger daughter.

A police spokeswoman said an investigation was underway but that all early clues pointed to a family drama having taken place. There was no indication that Schmittmann's business dealings had played any role in the tragedy.

The daily Algemeen Dagblad said the three were found by Schmittmann's elder daughter who had come to visit before departing for India, where she had been due to do an internship.

The elder daughter was in the care of wider family and the police victim care unit, police spokeswoman Leonie Bosselaar said.

Schmittmann paved the way for ABN Amro's break-up and sale in 2007 to a consortium of the banks Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis and Santander. After they came into difficulties during the global financial crisis, the Dutch government nationalized the core Dutch operations of ABN Amro.

When he left the bank after its nationalization in 2008, Schmittmann was contractually due a 16 million euro pay-off, a sum that was halved after then finance minister Wouter Bos described it as "exorbitant".

(Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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